(pg. 14) Spider-Man (to telepathic student at Xavier Institute): "I take it you're one of the telepaths here, right? Like Jean Grey used to be?"(pg. 16) Rachel Summers: "Jean Grey? Actually, I'm her daughter from a parallel future timeline. She and Cyclops are my birth-parents, but that reality doesn't exist any more..."portrait is on wall in Xavier Mansion

(pg. 6) Mary Jane Watson (showing Peter Parker her gun): "I'm not going to end up like Gwen, Tiger. I know you don't like it, but that's just the way it is."Peter Parker (narrating): "Man, what can I say? She's being paranoid? ...I couldn't protect Gwen, I couldn't protect Uncle Ben, and I couldn't even protect Aunt May..."(pg. 17) framed photo of Uncle Ben seen on wall of Aunt May's apartment in psychic flashback

Peter Parker (seeing a Spider-Man impersonator being taken out of J. Jonah Jameson's office by security): "This happen much?"receptionist: "Only about ten times a day. He's gotta be the shortest one we've had so far. Boy looks more like Ant-Man than Spider-Man."

Sandman (to Hydro-Man): "Tigra's been living in L.A. for the last six months. She teamed up with Wonder Man against Boomerang just a few weeks ago."Also, Simon Williams' name is seen on movie theater marque on same page (20): "Wonder Man: The Movie [starring] Simon Williams"

Terrible Tinkerer (at auction for Venom symbiote): "This is not the Beetle moving up and selling up. This is not the Looter trying to make a little cash. This is a Class One super-criminal who's been featured on the FBI's Most Wanted more consistently than anyone outside Magneto, Red Skull, or Victor von Doom himself."

Peter Parker (seeing a Spider-Man impersonator being taken out of J. Jonah Jameson's office by security): "This happen much?"receptionist: "Only about ten times a day. He's gotta be the shortest one we've had so far. Boy looks more like Ant-Man than Spider-Man."

Terrible Tinkerer (at auction for Venom symbiote): "This is not the Beetle moving up and selling up. This is not the Looter trying to make a little cash. This is a Class One super-criminal who's been featured on the FBI's Most Wanted more consistently than anyone outside Magneto, Red Skull, or Victor von Doom himself."

Terrible Tinkerer (at auction for Venom symbiote): "This is not the Beetle moving up and selling up. This is not the Looter trying to make a little cash. This is a Class One super-criminal who's been featured on the FBI's Most Wanted more consistently than anyone outside Magneto, Red Skull, or Victor von Doom himself."

Terrible Tinkerer (at auction for Venom symbiote): "This is not the Beetle moving up and selling up. This is not the Looter trying to make a little cash. This is a Class One super-criminal who's been featured on the FBI's Most Wanted more consistently than anyone outside Magneto, Red Skull, or Victor von Doom himself."

Peter Parker (to Mary Jane Watson): "Felicia called at the crack of dawn and said something really big was going on uptown tonight, too. She didn't have any specifics, but said the super-villain A-list was getting together for some big auction thing, and get this, Eddie Brock appears to be at the heart of it."

Sadie: "Don't you remember Tigra? ...Kraven the Hunter sold us this [coat made from her pelt] for a hundred-thousand bucks..."Hydro-Man: "...and you know what else he's gonna make for us? A lizard-skin handbag outta that lunatic Curt Connors..."Sandman: "Ah, Kraven's kid's as phony as his old man, Morrie."

Tinkerer: "...Mister Brock has seen a certain Mel Gibson Movie [Passion of the Christ], which, he says, has changed his life forever, and now he wishes to exorcise this beast [Venom symbiote] from his heart..."Mysterio: "Auctioning a psychotic killer to a gang of super-villains? That doesn't sound too Christ-like. What are you doing, Brock?..."

Sandman: "...Tigra... teamed up with Wonder Man against Boomerang just a few weeks ago."Hydro-Man: "Oh, yeah. And you're such an expert on Tigra, right?"Sandman: "Boomerang's married to my cousin, you moron. She [Tigra] had him banged up at the end of last month..."

Spider-Man (narrating): "I'm calling MJ every twenty minutes, but nothing's happening. An old friend named Liz Osborn was on the phone trying to talk her into a high-school reunion and it took nearly an hour to shake her off."

Mary Jane Watson (showing Peter Parker her gun): "I'm not going to end up like Gwen, Tiger. I know you don't like it, but that's just the way it is."Peter Parker (narrating): "Man, what can I say? She's being paranoid? ...I couldn't protect Gwen, I couldn't protect Uncle Ben, and I couldn't even protect Aunt May..."

Norman Osborn (to Spider-Man): "Thus, you can imagine his [a guard's] excitement when one of the world's most pioneering and respected biochemists [Osborn] was lodged on his beat between the Grizzly and that monosyllabic Rhino."

Sadie: "Don't you remember Tigra? ...Kraven the Hunter sold us this [coat made from her pelt] for a hundred-thousand bucks..."Hydro-Man: "...and you know what else he's gonna make for us? A lizard-skin handbag outta that lunatic Curt Connors..."Sandman: "Ah, Kraven's kid's as phony as his old man, Morrie."

Terrible Tinkerer (at auction for Venom symbiote): "This is not the Beetle moving up and selling up. This is not the Looter trying to make a little cash. This is a Class One super-criminal who's been featured on the FBI's Most Wanted more consistently than anyone outside Magneto, Red Skull, or Victor von Doom himself."

Mary Jane Watson: "What if he [J. Jonah Jameson] recognizes you from that horrible front page?"Peter Parker: "Not a chance. I look like a cross between Rocky Balboa and a plate of chopped liver in that picture. You said so yourself."

Tinkerer: "...Mister Brock has seen a certain Mel Gibson Movie [Passion of the Christ], which, he says, has changed his life forever, and now he wishes to exorcise this beast [Venom symbiote] from his heart..."Mysterio: "Auctioning a psychotic killer to a gang of super-villains? That doesn't sound too Christ-like. What are you doing, Brock?..."

Rachel Summers/Marvel Girl (to Spider-Man): "She had the chain on the door, but it didn't matter. She thought it was a Jehovah's Witness, but then he snapped the chain like it was made of licorice..."Although Rachel Summers and Spider-Man do not yet realize it, Aunt May's assailant was actually Mac Gargan (Scorpion).

At least one source suggested that Knight and Fogg (Malcolm Knight and Thomas Fogg) might have appeared in this issue. We looked closely and we are certain that they do not appear anywhere in this story.

All over New York City, people are trying to find out Spider-Man's identity in order to earn the $5 million reward for uncovering the secret. In this issue it is revealed that an "anonymous billionaire" has given the $5 million bounty to J. Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle in order to offer this bounty. Some of the spoken references to this billionaire include the following exchange from pages 8 and 9:

J. Jonah Jameson: "Who cares? Some anonymous billionaire donates five million bucks to boost our circulation, who am I to say no?"

The identity of this "anonymous billionaire" will not be revealed until Marvel Knights Spider-Man #8. At the end of that issue, it is revealed that the billionaire is Mac Gargan, the villain formerly known as Scorpion.

Excerpts

BELOW: Aunt May thought Mac Gargan (the Scorpion) was a Jehovah's Witness: Spider-Man consulted with powerful telepath Rachel Summers ("Marvel Girl" of the X-Men) to help him find his Aunt May, who was abducted by unknown villain. Touching a ring that belonged to Aunt May, Rachel was able to receive psychic impressions of the abduction. Rachel could not identify who the assailant was. But she did reveal that when Aunt May answered the door, she thought the person at the door was a Jehovah's Witness coming to preach about the Bible. It is worth noting that Aunt May left the chain on the door (meaning that she had not planned to let the Jehovah's Witness in), but she opened the door, no doubt intending to politely decline his invitation to visit with her.

BELOW: Eddie Brock ("Venom") was moved by Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" to renounce villainy, sell The Symbiote, and donate the money to charity: The Terrible Tinkerer conducts an auction for super-villains in which Eddie Brock is auctioning off the alien symbiote that transforms him into Venom - selling the symbiote to the highest bidder. Note how Mysterio questions whether Eddie Brock's actions are truly "Christ-like." It is not every day you see a super-villain question whether somebody's actions are "Christ-like." But Eddie Brock's spiritual motivations in this case are very sincere, and hearken back to the earliest beginnings of this Catholic character, who first merged with The Symbiote after a sincere prayer in a Catholic church. Note how the Tinkerer refers to Eddie Brock's "crisis of faith." This term is usually used to describe as a period of doubt that causes one to question one's beliefs. In this case, Eddie Brock has come to doubt his life as a villain, and is actually turning back to his religious faith.